49ers waive rookie TE, add former Bengals draft pick in roster move

The San Francisco 49ers will open training camp Sunday with a new face on their roster.

>General manager John Lynch on Saturday told reporters the club is signing tight end Tanner McLachlan and waiving undrafted rookie TE Khalil Dinkins in a corresponding roster move.

>Dinkins, who signed with the 49ers out of Penn State after he wasn't selected this year's draft, was placed on the non-football injury list after apparently suffering an injury during the offseason.

>He'll be replaced by McLachlan who entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2024 draft. He played in two games for Cincinnati as a rookie and didn't record a stat while playing just five offensive snaps. The Bengals waived McLachlan at final cuts last year. He caught on with the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad in December of last year and signed a reserve/future contract before being let go in May.

>Now the 6-5, 245-pound TE will get an opportunity to carve out a role in a relatively thin 49ers TE room. He'll compete with TEs Hayden Rucci and Brayden Willis for a spot on the back end of the roster. Although his path to staying in San Francisco may be through the practice squad.

>McLachlan, 27, started his college career with four seasons at Southern Utah before transferring to the University of Arizona for his final two seasons. With the Wildcats he posted 79 catches for 984 yards and six catches in 25 games. In two NFL preseasons with the Bengals he posted three catches for 42 yards on six targets.

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>This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers waive rookie TE, add former Bengals draft pick in roster move